Lonely Angels
by Angel1876
Summary: A young woman stands in a garden, talking to stone that's been there her entire life.
1. Chapter 1

Alyssa sat and stared at the statue, letting her eyes trace every crack and curve of the rock. It had been there since she was a little girl, standing in it's place to watch her grow into a young woman. She loved it, actually. Had begged her mother constantly not to get rid of it when she'd decided to rebuild the garden. She didn't even know why she liked the statue, really. It was pretty, yes, but not that different from any other bit of stone she'd seen. Perhaps she sympathized with it. She didn't have very many friends, not since she'd had that accident that burned half her face. They all just kinda... disappeared on her. Gone off to befriend others who didn't look like a female Twoface. And here it was, an angel, crying and alone.

She reached out and lightly touched it's wings. They were smooth and cold under her fingertips. They seemed to be the only part of the rock that wasn't cracked, and part of her wondered if it was meant to be like that, or if it was just decaying strangely for some reason.

"You're my best friend, you know." she murmured to the unmoving angel. "It's pathetic, isn't it? It's something you'd think a little kid would say. 'Hey, this inanimate object is my friend!' Sometimes I think I'm going mental." she gave a sheepish smile, knowing that it didn't even have a mind to understand her with. She sighed and continued tracing the carved feathers. "You're always here for me. You were there when I got my first car, when I learned to ride a bike...you were there when skittles died. I can't imagine looking into this garden and you not being here."

She continued to circle the silent angel, to trace it's other wing, it's arm, it's hands, "Funny, sometimes I feel as if you might actually be alive...but that's impossible, isn't it?" she sighed and pulled away, though her eyes lingered on the statue a moment longer. She was just being silly again, she told herself. It was what everyone else said. Suddenly feeling mildly depressed, she turned from it, intending to walk back to the house.

Something brushed the top of her head, and instinctively she reached up to grab it. A single red rose had landed on her head, but that couldn't be right...the rose bush was on the other side of the garden. A shiver went down her spine, as if she were being watched, and she turned to look at the statue. It was still there, like always. Was it just her, or had it moved just a little? She shook her head, dismissing the thought.

Alyssa went back inside, leaving the weeping angel in it's loneliness once more.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, friend." Alyssa offered the cold stone a small, strained smile as she approached, though she knew it hadn't the thoughts to appreciate it with. She sat down in front of it and opened the book, flipping through the pages, skimming through them. She swallowed thickly, and ran her fingers through the hair that she was using to hide the scarred half of her face.

"I, I guess this is mine now." she started slowly, "I read it at the library once. It was a good book. Not something I'd spent my money on, but..." she looked up at the angel, still unmoving. Like she actually though she'd get a response form a garden ornament. A sigh escaped her as her gaze shifted back to the yellowish paper. "I was walking moms dog. You remember Archie, right? Tried to pee on you once? Well, I was walking him, and we ended up having to go past those kids again. I, tried to ignore them but, well, you know how they get...and then they threw this at me. Hit me in the head. I, wonder if they chose it on purpose, or if it's just ironic. Phantom Of The Opera. One of the main characters, his face is scarred too, and he ends up...he... And I know what mom will say." she imitated the woman's higher, almost whinny voice, "_'You're overreacting, don't worry about it, when did you become such a drama queen?_' she wouldn't care, so why bother talking to her?." frustrated, she tossed the book across the garden. It landed in one of the flower patches with a soft rustling sound.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to fight back the growing pressure behind her burning eyes, "I guess...it's no big deal. It's not like they haven't said worse to my face. I just..." she trailed off, feeling her voice crack as her throat contracted painfully.

She stayed like that for several minutes, her gaze tracing the folds in the angel's robe. After she'd gotten a hold of herself again, she stood and stepped forward to lightly lean against it, her cheek pressed to the cool rock. "Then again, you don't care, either..." and she closed her eyes.

The hard surface he was touching suddenly became soft, and slightly warm. With a yelp, the woman jumped away from it, her lids flying open again to reveal the statue, which hadn't moved. Her heart pounded hard in her chest from the unexpected change, even as she hurried to convince herself that it hadn't happened. She'd just imagined it, right? She hesitantly put her hand against it's arm, wincing as she felt the smooth surface. There, everything was normal, she was just over stressed was all. She chuckled nervously at herself, and unconsciously blinked.

It moved.

She pulled away again with a surprised squeak. It was a peice of stone, it didn't, it couldn't-

But it did. It did move. One of it's hands had lowered slightly, one empty eye gazing at her. Okay, this had to be a dream, this wasn't real. Carved rocks don't move. They...but just a few days ago, the rose...

"Are, you alive?" she asked quietly, as if worried someone might hear. There was no response, until-

_Blink._

It had moved again, both arms lowered to it's sides, and it's head was tilted a little, as if questioning her. "You're fast." she said, awed, as she stepped further back, expecting it to lunge at her. Though, as the initial shock began to wear off, she found herself not quite so worried about it as she probably should have been. It wasn't making any threatening moves, and she supposed if it did want to hurt her it would have done so years ago. She swallowed thickly and touched it's shoulder, the silence becoming creepy when it continued not to move. And then a thought occurred to her.

She closed her eyes again.


	3. Chapter 3

Alyssa stood perfectly still, wondering if her hunch was right. She'd never actually seen the statue move, so maybe it only moved when she wasn't looking. Why? Maybe it couldn't. Maybe it just didn't want to. What was it, exactly? What creature could possibly harden into stone and soften into a living being? She was sure nothing like that had ever been discovered, or at least made public. How many of these things were there? Was there an entire race of them somewhere, like, an entire city hidden underneath the ground? It looked humanoid, maybe a science experiment? Or, it did look like an angel...maybe-

Her entire body started when she felt something brush against the thick sleeve covering her arm, and she had to force herself not to look at it. The light touch travailed upwards, past her elbow and all the way to her shoulder. As it reached her neck, she shivered, the warm fingertips finally touching skin, leaving a pleasant tingle in their wake. After a moment, she felt them move to brush the hair from her face.

She flinched away. After years of being rejected because of that scar, it was second nature for her to try and keep anyone, or anything, from seeing it. But it's other hand found her wrist and pulled her back. She lost her balance, but the angel steadied her. It reached up again, and this time she let it. Her hair was brushed behind her ear, baring herself to it's eyes.

A breath escaped her lungs in a rush when she felt the pressure of it's touch on the rough skin. The injury had dulled the sensitivity, so she couldn't quite feel the temperature difference, or even the texture. It could have been digging it's nails into her and she wouldn't have known until it tore into her flesh.

It let go of her wrist, and began to cradle her head in both hands, it's thumbs softly caressing her face. Her heart fluttered softly in her chest, and she was struck by the thought that no one had touched her like this since the accident.

Suddenly, Alyssa found herself pressed to it's body, it's hands having moved from her face to her back so quickly it took a moment for her to process the change. It wasn't unwelcome, though. It was nice. She went to wrap her own arms around it, and was met with a barrier. A rather fluffy barrier. It's wings. She hesitated, wondering if it would take offense if she touched them. But then, it got to feel her old wound, so it would only be fair. And it wasn't like she hadn't touched them before, right?

She swallowed thickly and made the plunge. Her fingers ran slowly through the feathers, amazed at how soft they felt. She tried to imagine what they looked like at the moment. Would they be pure and white? Black and silky? Deep, earthy brown? Or would they be the same dirty grey she'd always known them to be?

She became aware of warm, wet air against her forehead, and knew it was the angel's breath. On a whim, she pulled her curious hands from it's wings and brought them to either side of it's neck. When she was sure she knew where it's face was, she leaned up and brushed her lips against it's cheek. "Thank you." she whispered.

_Thank you for being there for me._

As she went to pull away, a pressure on the back of her head stopped her. And then it's mouth was pressed, very gently, to hers. It didn't last long, just a few seconds, if that. When it pulled away, she was brought into another hug. She snuggled into the embrace, enjoying the moment, feeling...loved. More so than she had in a long time.

After several minutes, it pulled away from her. She opened her eyes to see the stone angel looking skyward, and it was then she realized the sun was setting. It was the time she always left, because dinner was almost ready and her mother would be pissed if she was late. She sighed, wanting to stay. She could, actually. She was of age. But if she didn't, it would just cause more problems, and she'd had enough of those for one day.

"I, guess I gotta be going. I'll, see you tomorrow, okay?" she began to feel slightly nervous. Would it stay, now that she knew it was alive? She let her eyes close again, and instantly felt it's arms around her again. It tightened it's grip, squeezing her a little, then turned her around and nudged at her back. "I take that as a yes." the woman smiled, beginning to walk away. At the entrance, she paused to look back. It was once more at the garden's center, posed as if drawn to tears. As if everything that had just happened had been a simple dream.

She brushed her hair back in front of her face, and quietly left.

The book that had been used to upset her so sat completely forgotten in the flower bush. Well, maybe not completely forgotten. Within seconds of her departure, it vanished, thrown into a trash bin that belonged to the humans next door.


	4. Chapter 4

Alyssa entered the garden again to find her angel waiting for her. In her hands she held a long strip of black cloth, which she'd taken from an old sweater of hers. When she was close enough to reach out and touch the seemingly lifeless stone, she turned her back on it. A soft pressure came upon her back, it's hand, as she reached up to wrap the fabric around her eyes. "A homemade blindfold." she explained, "So it's easier for me not to look, see?" she secured the knot and turned around, smiling where she thought it's face might be.

After a moment, she felt it grab a hold of her wrist and tug, and without a second thought she started walking. It was slightly difficult, being unable to see, but the angel was patent, steading her when she stumbled over a rock or step. It didn't lead her far though, within minutes she was made to sit on a hard, cool surface. She'd walked through the flowers so many times, she had a pretty good idea of where she was. On a bench, as far away from the entrance as one could get. Something was placed in her lap, and the cloth over her eyes suddenly fell off, the knot having been undone. She looked up, and couldn't find the statue, so she assumed it was behind her. She looked back down and found a notebook, opened to the first page. A very familiar notebook.

"Did you get this out of my room?" she asked, picking it up to read what was written. The words were unbelievably neat, better than any she'd seen before.

_You are the only one to know I live. I would appreciate you keeping that information to yourself, if at all possible. Not that I believe you would tell someone. It is simply, if you do, the humans would panic. We would both find ourselves in rather complicated positions._

_I cannot communicate with you directly, as you have likely already realized. Yet I have been here long enough, I know how to write. This will make discussing things easier._

_I do hope you are feeling better today. I dislike seeing you upset._

Alyssa tilted her head a little, not having expected this. It seemed so...formal. She closed her eyes and held up the book, waiting for it to be taken, then responded, "I'm feeling much better, thank you. I just overreacted, is all. And don't wouldn't worry, I won't tell anyone. Who are you?"

_I have no name, though many call our kind as a whole 'Weeping Angels'. They also call us 'Lonely Assassins', though I personally take offense to that title. I never killed anyone. I dislike violence. Most of us do._

_I hope this is not intimidating to you, that I am referred to as an assassin. It is an unfitting name, I assure you._

Her eyes widened while reading, but she shook her head, "You're my friend...so it doesn't bother me. You said 'us.' Are there many of you?"

_Yes. I assume so, at least, unless someone discovered out how to kill a stone. However, it's been quite a while since I've been in a group. For obvious reasons, we try to ovoid each other, unless necessary. The last group I was in consisted of five, including me. They wished to take something from a powerful being. I disagreed. You were young then. Your parents didn't know where I came from, but accepted me as a gift, so I was allowed to stay._

_We are still friends? I am happy._

She vaguely remembered that, though the memory was foggy. She couldn't have been more than three or four when it happened. "Obvious reasons? What do you mean? And yes, of course we're still friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

_You did not know I was alive when you said we were._

_We turn to stone whenever we are gazed upon, even when it is others of our own kind. We can not look at each other, least we risk becoming still for eternity._

Alyssa shivered at the thought, "That sounds...horrible." stuck, unable to move at all, a prisoner in your own body. She couldn't imagine it. After a moment, she changed the subject, not wanting to think about it, "What do you look like when I'm not looking at you? Do you still look like a statue?"

_No. Do you want to see? I can draw a picture for you. I will need colored pencils, however._

"I'll buy some at the store tomorrow." she said, jumping at the chance, "I'll get the one with seventy two colors, is that enough?"

_Yes._


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: I do apologize, but it seems I forgot to thank one of my reviewers last chapter. I posted it in the middle of the night, so it slipped my mind. I'm sorry. So, thank you, anonymous reviewer, for giving me the idea to have them communicate through the notebook. And for the picture idea.**_

_**Also, this is the last chapter. So thank you everyone, for reading my story, and for encouraging me with your reviews. ^^ This couldn't have been continued without you.**_

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><p>Alyssa sat patently on the bench, listening to the soft, rapid sounds of pencil on paper. She'd gotten it the colored drawing material as requested, and it immediately set to work on the promised picture.<p>

She sighed to herself, a simple exhale, and wrapped her arms around her middle tightly. In a short while, she'd be able to see what her angel looked like. Her stomach twisted lightly with...what was it? It felt almost like nervousness, but no, that wasn't it. It was...anticipation, maybe?

The sound behind her stopped, and in that same instant something brushed against the back of her head, lingering just a little longer than necessary. Taking the hint, she closed her eyes. A moment later the notebook was placed on her lap.

She opened her eyes, and gasped at the detailed image presented to her. She could have sworn she'd only waited about five or so minutes, how fast could the statue move, exactly?

The picture was more of a work of art, something that should have been in a museum. It was her angel, standing on a pedestal against a white background. The silver grey skin almost matching it's statue form, but appearing much smoother and more natural. The hair was a much darker color, nearly black. The eyes were golden, matching the robe it wore. And the wings...

The wings were unfolded, each feather drawn flawlessly. The top was the same as the skin, but further down they lightened, and at the bottom they were a deep amber color.

The angel stood with it's hands folded neatly in front of it, a small smile softening it's features. A small note rested on a separate piece of paper, placed under the picture.

_This is what I see when I look into a mirror. If I look at any other of my kind they turn into the same thing I turn into when you look at me, so this should not be taken as an accurate representation of what we look like as a whole._

_I hope you like it._

Alyssa felt a soft pang in her heart at that last sentence, and she quickly closed her eyes again, giving it the freedom to move around again, "You're beautiful."

The book was taken from her, only to be returned but two seconds later.

_As are you._

Shock flooded through her at those three simple words. Her? Beautiful? But...her scar...

She looked up to see the statue in front of her, it's gaze centered on her, as if waiting for a reaction. She carefully placed the book beside her on the bench and ran up to it, closing her eyes at the last instant so she could wrap her arms around it in a tight hug.

"Thank you." she whispered, nuzzling her face into it's shoulder. Then, after a moment, "I...love you."

Her angel wrapped it's arms around her, squeezing her softly in reply.


End file.
